Jeep discovered an issue regarding the front impact sensor on 2016 and 2017 Wrangler. Although no-one actually reported the problem, it was spotted during the testing which forced the company to withdraw 182,302 vehicles. The issue was prominent in the cars produced from June 16, 2015 to August 14, 2016.
The headlamp rotates during some crashes, which disconnects the front impact sensor. When the aforementioned sensor is not working, the Occupant Restraint Controller is not able to receive a signal. Because of this, seatbelt pretensioners and airbags become useless and the passengers can get seriously hurt.
Read about: 2018 Jeep Grand Wagoneer
This problem has just been discovered so we don’t know when it will be fixed, but we guess that this has become the company’s primary goal. By November 25, every owner of the 2016 or 2017 Wrangler will be notified when they can get their car repaired.
The company used the airbags from a 2017 model in a 2016 model in order to run some tests. That’s when they discovered the problem. Apparently, when the 2016 Wrangler was produced, some changes to the routing of the wiring were spotted by the team of experienced engineers. The previous, 2015 version didn’t have that problem.
The new 2018 Wrangler will hit the market next year. According to some rumors and reports, it will contain some new elements and features, but the look will remain pretty much the same. Furthermore, the new model will witness weight reduction due to some aluminum parts. An updated V6, diesel or turbocharged V4 will be engine options for the 2018 Wrangler.
Hopefully, Jeep will avoid this kind of mishaps in the future.
